OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

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Topic Author
mbres60
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OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by mbres60 »

After remodeling our kitchen two years ago we put up a microwave over our stove. The CFMs are 400. We have had two issues since day one.

First is the microwave venting. If we heat up anything more than a minute (popcorn, tv dinner, a plateful of leftover food for dinner) the microwave vents on the very top (all microwaves these days seem to have vents up there) so my cabinets above this microwave get wet. When it was under warranty we had someone come down who said it was normal and we should put tape up there to cover the vents. This did not sound like good advise so we have been rolling up a dish towel. This works many times but not always.

Second issue is that the vent does not seem strong. My big burners are in front and the vent fan is near the back. When boiling a pot of water with the cover on I can see the steam that comes out mostly going up the vent. However, when I take the cover off most of the steam does not get sucked to the vent but instead just goes straight up. This gets the microwave quite wet. What are your experiences with this? I would say about 20% maybe at most 25% of the steam gets sucked to the vent.

Now that it is two years old and I boil water for pasta much less often because of the issue we have noticed what looks like a little damage on the cabinet doors. I called LG customer service and spoke with a manager. We sent our receipt over to him and he is giving us a 90 day warranty and sending someone out to look at it tomorrow. I am not sure what to expect other than for him to say it is working normally. If that is the case….. why do they build these things the way they do? I would think EVERYONE would be destroying their cabinets. I have noticed that people with older machines have the vents across the top front of the microwave so it vents into the kitchen. They don't make them this way anymore but instead they are along the very top.

What are your experiences with hot steam coming up from the top of the microwave? Do your cabinets get wet? Anyone know how microwaves work? Could there be something wrong with the way it was built and that we should not get so much steam? Any salespeople we have spoken with in stores say they have not heard of this issue.
barnaclebob
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by barnaclebob »

My OTR microwave vents out the back into ducting that goes outside. However it doesn't seal super good so I suspect some of the air is getting vented into the wall. Air definitely comes out of the vent on the side of the house though...
ralph124cf
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by ralph124cf »

There are some few OTR microwaves that vent outside. Most are not real vents, that is they only have a small cheap filter for odors, recycling the "vented" air back into the kitchen.

I think the whole idea of OTR microwaves is flawed. Powerful electronic devices prefer cool, dry conditions. Over the stove is hot and moist. This does not lead to long, happy lives for OTR microwave ovens.

Ralph
Topic Author
mbres60
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by mbres60 »

Ours vents outside but a salesperson told me (rightly or wrongly) that the venting is for the fan that clears steam and smoke from the stove and not for the hot air inside the microwave. I'll have to ask the repair person tomorrow.

Still looking to find out if people with OTR microwaves with the vent grill on the top (not facing you at the top but on the top side of the microwave) get a lot of moisture on their cabinets.
Topic Author
mbres60
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by mbres60 »

barnaclebob wrote:My OTR microwave vents out the back into ducting that goes outside. However it doesn't seal super good so I suspect some of the air is getting vented into the wall. Air definitely comes out of the vent on the side of the house though...
So it sounds like you don't get moisture on your cabinets. Ours is supposed to vent outside for the fan. Only test we can do is turn on the fan and look outside to see if the flap opens. It is above our walkout basement so it is two stories up. Land slopes so we can't put a ladder there and actually feel how much air is coming out.
adamthesmythe
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by adamthesmythe »

I have a microwave/ exhaust over a range. I don't have problems with steam (it seems to exhaust at least a little outdoors.) Also, I have had it for about 20 years so there has been no reliability issue.

However- it doesn't exhaust very effectively. I wouldn't get one again, I would get a genuine, effective, to-the-outdoors exhaust hood. The microwave/ exhaust seems to be a not very good compromise.

It's also not very good at lighting the stove.
barnaclebob
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by barnaclebob »

mbres60 wrote:
barnaclebob wrote:My OTR microwave vents out the back into ducting that goes outside. However it doesn't seal super good so I suspect some of the air is getting vented into the wall. Air definitely comes out of the vent on the side of the house though...
So it sounds like you don't get moisture on your cabinets. Ours is supposed to vent outside for the fan. Only test we can do is turn on the fan and look outside to see if the flap opens. It is above our walkout basement so it is two stories up. Land slopes so we can't put a ladder there and actually feel how much air is coming out.
I have no issues with the operation of the microwave itself. The vent for the stove only captures about half the steam from boiling liquids so the microwave will get steam on it. My cabinets are fine except for the usual grease buildup that accumulates.
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oneleaf
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by oneleaf »

mbres60 wrote:Ours vents outside but a salesperson told me (rightly or wrongly) that the venting is for the fan that clears steam and smoke from the stove and not for the hot air inside the microwave. I'll have to ask the repair person tomorrow.

Still looking to find out if people with OTR microwaves with the vent grill on the top (not facing you at the top but on the top side of the microwave) get a lot of moisture on their cabinets.
Never had a problem with moisture but a lot of problems with grease. I hated my OTR microwave. I got rid of it, got a proper range hood that vents outside and bought a countertop microwave.
JohnFiscal
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by JohnFiscal »

OP: you say that the microwave blows air from the vents into your kitchen (and onto the cabinets) but that it is also ducted to the outside. If it's ducted to the outside then it likely should not be venting into your kitchen. When our microwave was installed recently there were some changes to be made to its configuration (remove screws, change some parts, only a few minutes) so that it would blow to the exterior vent, not into the kitchen. We have no venting into the kitchen. You should have an installer review the installation instructions, and then check the microwave itself to make certain it was installed properly.

That said, we also are very disappointed in the venting performance of the new microwave. It barely pulls a stream of air from above the range. I believe the whole concept of using the microwave as a vent hood is misguided. And ditto on the poor lighting that someone else mentioned.
Last edited by JohnFiscal on Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
tomd37
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by tomd37 »

When we last replaced our OTR microwave we installed a GE Profile 30" unit that exhausts to the outside at the top of the microwave unit directly through the outside wall behind the stove and microwave. When using the microwave the unit vents from the inside of the microwave to the outside. When you are cooking on the stove below the microwave you can turn on the microwave exhaust fan (three speed plus a booster speed) and a 4" x 30" inch door at the top front face of the microwave opens up and exhausts the air directly outside. At the same time as this fan is operating it is also drawing air through a wire mesh filter on the bottom surface of the microwave to the exhaust system thus taking odors off the stove top. The fan exhaust system works very well as evidenced by the great smells, when I am on the back porch, of my wife searing/browning a pot roast in its pot. :wink:

And now that I looked closely at the microwave I see that the wire mesh filter on the bottom of the unit needs cleaning. No issues with the new unit since its installation four years ago.
Tom D.
JohnFiscal
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by JohnFiscal »

OP: see typical LG install instructions: http://content.abt.com/documents/60736/ ... nstall.pdf

See pages 17 and 18: the blower and motor have to be "reversed" in order to blow to the outside duct, and block venting to the recirculation grill.
Topic Author
mbres60
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by mbres60 »

Thanks for your replies. The LG repair person came down. According to him the microwave is fine. He says that when you have hot food inside the microwave that the build up of heat is SUPPOSED to vent through the top. He says that venting to the outside is only for the fan for the stove and not for the buildup of steam and heat inside the microwave. We put a big bowl of water inside and heated it for 4 minutes. He saw what we were talking about. We tried the same thing with the fan on that is supposed to be for the stove. That actually helped. He put a paper towel by the top of the microwave and you could see that it was being sucked down which meant the airflow up there was going into the microwave instead of out. We will try that for a while and hope that helps. I don't understand how OTR microwaves became so popular as they seem to have a flawed design. The stove fan is not particularly good at taking steam from boiling water from the front burners either. Why would people want these things??????

Overall, if I had to do it again I would not. I would have purchased another hood vent and had my microwave on the counter. Now, if I were to change things back I would need to actually have my SIL (who renovated our kitchen) add more tile as we now have a backsplash. the microwave comes down much lower than a vent hood. I do have extra tile but the grout he mixed up might be a slightly different color. I also hesitate to have him do all this extra work.
adamthesmythe
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by adamthesmythe »

> I don't understand how OTR microwaves became so popular as they seem to have a flawed design.

Well they sorta kinda work. There are a fair number of appliances out there that really don't work that well. Sometimes you don't find this out until you own them.

> had my microwave on the counter.

Solves one problem and makes the microwave cheap to replace. But it's not a very neat installation. I now think a cooktop + wall oven/microwave is a reasonable design.
pshonore
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Re: OTR Microwave

Post by pshonore »

ralph124cf wrote:There are some few OTR microwaves that vent outside. Most are not real vents, that is they only have a small cheap filter for odors, recycling the "vented" air back into the kitchen.

I think the whole idea of OTR microwaves is flawed. Powerful electronic devices prefer cool, dry conditions. Over the stove is hot and moist. This does not lead to long, happy lives for OTR microwave ovens.

Ralph
Almost all OTR microwaves have the option to vent outside. Its a matter of how they're installed. However, some folks have no way of venting outside without doing some carpentry and opening up ceiling, walls and cutting holes in cabinets. Also don't put boiling pots on the front burner; the microwave will capture more of the steam if you use the back burner (which unfortunately tend to be smaller). Agree that the moisture is not good for electronics - especially the touchpad.
2comma
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by 2comma »

Hum. We're on our second OTR. When I remodeled a few years ago we both wanted a new one - countertop space is at a premium in our house. We haven't had problems with venting, steam or grease although it does vent the rear burners better than the front. Ours vents outside through the top.

The two issues I've seen with OTR microwave installations is when someone is replacing an old vent-a-hood. The power supplied to them is 15 amps; it should be a 20 amp stand-alone circuit. The other is that the mw should be a minimum of 18" above the cooktop surface. I've seen some that were quite a bit closer than that. If the ductwork isn't installed right and sealed up... but that's not the manufacturers fault.

The three things I don't like about the ones we've had are the light to the stove top is a joke, the exhaust fan is quite loud and the touchpad seems to age a lot quicker than the rest of the unit.
If I am stupid I will pay.
Topic Author
mbres60
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by mbres60 »

2comma wrote:Hum. We're on our second OTR. When I remodeled a few years ago we both wanted a new one - countertop space is at a premium in our house. We haven't had problems with venting, steam or grease although it does vent the rear burners better than the front. Ours vents outside through the top.

The two issues I've seen with OTR microwave installations is when someone is replacing an old vent-a-hood. The power supplied to them is 15 amps; it should be a 20 amp stand-alone circuit. The other is that the mw should be a minimum of 18" above the cooktop surface. I've seen some that were quite a bit closer than that. If the ductwork isn't installed right and sealed up... but that's not the manufacturers fault.

The three things I don't like about the ones we've had are the light to the stove top is a joke, the exhaust fan is quite loud and the touchpad seems to age a lot quicker than the rest of the unit.
When we put in this microwave we had an electrician come in and put an outlet that was on its own circuit (the vent hood was hard wired and not a plug in). I don't know what the amp is but it is definitely a stand alone circuit. At dinner we had left over Chinese. I put the vent fan on and then reheated the food for 2 minutes 20 seconds for it to be hot. No steam. Yeah.

I still won't be boiling pasta often as I have to use the front burners and the vent doesn't pull the steam enough. My unit is an LG. They make a different unit that has a small pull out section on the bottom with two filters . You pull it out (goes out about 4 inches) when using the front burners. I told the repair man I wished I had bought that one. He said they are not good. Said 90% come in broken. Said the latch that holds it shut is very flimsy. He doesn't know why they make it that cheaply.
daveatca
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by daveatca »

Microwave our is just a bad idea. Period. Have one. It does not suck well at all. Gets way too hot when I cook on high.
Just say no.
ralph124cf
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by ralph124cf »

I believe that most OTR microwaves are sold for reasons of limited kitchen counter space, frequently in apartments or condos where there is absolutely no way to access the outdoors for venting purposes.

Ralph
Beth*
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by Beth* »

When we remodeled our kitchen we put a powerful hood over the stove that vents to the outside and then built a shelf into the upper cabinets for a microwave. I don't think a microwave over the stove can ever vent as well as a good hood that is designed for that purpose.

If you Google "microwave on shelf" and select "images" you can see pictures of what the microwave on the shelf looks like. The combination has worked out well for us and I like the microwave on the shelf much better than the microwave on the counter. Our contractor recommended this rather than a built in microwave because the stand alone microwave on the shelf was not expensive and it is easy to get a replacement if it breaks.
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mbres60
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by mbres60 »

Beth* wrote:When we remodeled our kitchen we put a powerful hood over the stove that vents to the outside and then built a shelf into the upper cabinets for a microwave. I don't think a microwave over the stove can ever vent as well as a good hood that is designed for that purpose.
I have learned this is correct since I did the kitchen remodel. Live and learn. Hopefully this thread will help someone who is going to do a kitchen remodel and thinks it is a nice idea to put the microwave above the stove.
msordonez
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by msordonez »

mbres60, you are not going crazy! I had the same problem. I purchased my LG microwave hood combo from Lowe's and had them install it. I have been through hell trying to figure out why my cabinets were getting hot steam vented directly on them. Over time, my cabinets are going to be ruined, so it wasn't an option to live with it this way. I was told, by the installer, exactly what you were told, the stove vents outside the house but the steam from the microwave vents on top. However, I've got three different stories from LG, and I have yet to find another installer or appliance center that's even heard of this steam problem. The last rep from LG told me the vent on the top is only there to vent recirculated air if you don't have a vent outside, but he couldn't explain why the range vent was venting outside. I had a Whirlpool Gold there prior without problems. I was told by the installer the design has changed (my old microwave had a vent on the front), and I need to find a microwave that vents out the front. They no longer make microwaves that vent out the front and I have a hard time believing that there aren't more people with this problem if it's because of the new design. I ended up taking my microwave back to Lowe's, and I'm still trying to find a fix. Lowe's tried to blame the problem on me because they said I didn't buy the right size microwave since my cabinets are 15" deep. I had to go all the way to the store manager to get them to take it back. I thought that's what sales associates were supposed to do; tell you what you need to know to buy the right product. Guess I am getting old because I remember when they used to do that. :annoyed I may end up putting up a hood, but I have the same problem with the tile. If anyone has a fix, I'd love to hear it too!
obgraham
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Re: OTR Microwave [Over The Range]

Post by obgraham »

I'm just into my third kitchen with OTR microwave. Finally have learned the lesson that Beth* mentioned previously.

They've all been bad installations. Between mopping up the grease, dealing with false fire alarms, and lousy lighting, every one of them was poor. I should have installed a heavy duty vent over the stove, then put the micro someplace else. Unfortunately, this latest install is on an inside wall, no ability to vent outside.
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